Improvement in supports for street-car tongues



B. MGDEVITT.

SUPPORTS FOR STREET-CAR TONGUES. No. 195,519. Patented Sept.25,1877.

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BERNARD MODEVITT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUPPORTS FOR STREET-CAR TONGUES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 195,519, dated September 25, 1877; application filed August 9, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD MoDEVITT, of the city of Chicago, Gook county, State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Supports for Street-OarTongues, of which the following is a full description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a bottom view of the adjustable brace; Fig. 3, a top view of the tongue; and Fig. 4, a detail.

The object of this invention is to provide street-car or other detachable tongues with an adjustable supporting-brace, so that the tongue can be. adjusted to the height of the team, and relieve the team from carrying the weight of its forward end.

In the drawings, A represents the bracket, which is permanently attached to the car; B, the couplingiron; (l, the tongue; D, the pivoted connecting-brace; E, the rear section of the adjustable brace; F, the swivel; G, the forward section of the adjustable brace, and H the safety-chain.

The bracket A, coupling-iron B, and tongue 0 are made in the usual form, and the lower section E of the adjustable brace is provided with a fork or opening, to engage with the bracket in the usual manner.

The brace D is pivoted both above and below, as shown, and it keeps the section E in the same plane, and also relieves the section E and swivel F from strain.

By cutting the lower brace in two and connecting the two sections by the screw-swivel F, the outer end of the tongue is raised or lowered as the swivel is turned to the right or left, and by this arrangement the tongue can be adjusted on the supporting-brace to the height of the team hitched to the tongue, so that its weight will not rest upon the neckyoke or upon the necks of the horses.

The safety-chain H is attached to the body of the car and the tongue, as shown in Fig. 1, by any suitable means, and it is designed to furnish another attachment for the tongue to the car, in addition to the pin usually used, so that, if by any means the pin should be broken or slipped out of place, this chain will still hold the tongue to the car, and prevent any accident from the running away of the team.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. The combination of the tongue B O and pivoted bar D with the brace E G and interposed turn-buckle F, for adjusting and preserving the relative position of the parts, substantially as specified.

2. The safety-chain H, in combination with the bracket A and tongue B, substantially as specified.

BERNARD MCDEVITT.

Witnesses:

E. A. WEsT, 0. W. BOND. 

